Venice, Here I come!

[Little Bird]

Ok everyone, I'm off for a short break to beautiful Venice with my husband and we're really looking forward to it.

I won't be back on the forum until Friday (unless I just can't resist going into the first internet cafe I see) but the idea is to get away from all the stresses in life and to have time just for the 2 of us.

I hope you all miss me terribly! I know you all will. LOL


If you have any problems or questions while I am gone, please do not hesitate to contact one of our very capable moderators:

Chris - last_dance_rodeo (http://www.jewelkilcherforum.com/member.php?u=91)
Kyle - kjm030584 (http://www.jewelkilcherforum.com/member.php?u=22)
Andrea - Eibhlin (http://www.jewelkilcherforum.com/member.php?u=24)
Dave - bluediamond (http://www.jewelkilcherforum.com/member.php?u=3)

If you do wish to contact me, you can still pm me or email me at kiera@jewelkilcherforum.com however I will not be able to respond until I get back.

I'll look forward to reading the tonne of posts and threads when I get back and of course, to share all my holiday snaps with you.

Take care
Kiera

[kjm030584]

take some pictures so you can share them with us!

[Little Bird]

Hence the last line Kyle. LOL

I will of course

[kjm030584]

oh, "snaps"

I gotta get better about my backward lingo from accross the pond.

[Eibhlin]

well, I dont think you meant to list me as one to be contacted, as I am in fact hiding in your really large duffel and going with you...

[kjm030584]

I'd go in pieces just to save money, but I don't think that would end well.

[wackyoverkhaki]

Once again, hope you and your hubby have a great time. What a great place to spend your birthday!

[007]

Yeah, Venice is great if you know your way around. I got stationed their for work once. I didn't realize it but I got into a bad area and I was being chased down an alley by several thugs who found out why I was their, so PLEASE BE CAREFUL. The only place I could hide was a church. Thank God for Catholics. My venice trip got 'cut' short, so I'll hope that you'll finish it for me. Can't wait to see the pictures.

Jonesy

[ShawnShamrock]

Have alot of Fun , I know what you mean about the Internet Cafe, I had to fight the urge countless times to go to everyone I seen when I was In Ireland. I was like OH MY GOD I gotta go online and sign on myspace and message someone and tell them how things are here lol.

Have alot of fun ill be thinkin about u

[Veilingmeat]

VENICE!!!! you lucky lass you, hope you have/are having a good time....Italy is one of my favourite countrys...oooh the Venetian beauty is something to behold (apart from the skanky pong of the canal/river water) but...enjoy both :wink:

[Little Bird]

Well Hello everyone!! Both glad and sad to be back.

Brace yourselves, this is a long one!

We had a brilliant time. i really loved it. I have to admit, it is a fantastic place and unbelievably safe! I couldn't get over how friendly everyone was and the level of service for pretty much everything. The only real downsides is the amount of bridges and how much everything costs. On foot it's fine, but with luggage....a total other story.

Yesterday was a bit of a waste. Check out in the hotel was 12pm and our flight wasn't until 8:30pm so there was a lot of hours to kill. We'd literally walked every inch of Venice during our trip and to say our legs had 'had-it', was an understatment. Couple that with luggage in a city full of uneven roads, narrow alleyways and lots of steps up and down bridges, needless to say, we didn't get far yesterday.

In the end, we just made our way to the airport and waited there for about 4 hours. It was a shame but not really a whole lot we could do about it.

As for the rest of the trip, it was fantastic. Venice is so much smaller than I thought but that was more of a Godsend. It meant we could walk everywhere and really see the real venice, not just what was housed around the Grand Canal. San Marco square is exactly how it looks in all the pictures but so much bigger. It was like looking at a postcard leading up to it on the waterbus.

The waterbuses were strange when you think about it. People going about their daily business on their way to work reading the paper in their best suits, hopping on a bus on water as if it were the tube was an odd thing to see but so common place there, that you eventually got used to it.

The shopping there is fantastic. All the best designer names are there right in the heart of small cafés and bars. There doesn't seemt to be a particular 'district' for these shops. They are mingled in with normal shops selling €15 clothes and souvenir shops, swanky bars and simple cafés. I like that becasue it removes the idea of elitist attitudes.

The Hotel was spectacular. Never have Peter and I been treated so well. We loved it. We stayed in the 4 star Carlton Grand Canal Hotel. I recommend it to all who wish to stay in Venice in comfort. It was very reasonable considering how much everything costs there.

It is very expensive! We had 2 coffees! Just 2 coffees! Not cappucinos or lattes or anything fancy, just coffee and it came to nearly €12. It is hard to get a cup of basic coffee for less than €5. Some places were selling cups of coffee for €10 a cup! A beer could set you back by anything from €8 per 33cl bottle to €15.

Food wise, restaurants are absolutely everywhere. You'd think with so much competition, that the prices would be competitive, sadly no. We had a meal one evening. Just 2 drinks and 2 pizza's and it came to nearly €50. As for travel. The bus costs €6 each way. It was actually quicker to walk so once we got hit with a €24 return trip cost to take the water bus, we decided that would be our only trip or we'd have no money for anything else. Walking really was easier.

You'll find souvenirs more acceptable and even beautiful cashmere scarfs for more reasonable prices but it did mean that i

I could go on and on about Venice. It was a fantastic trip. Bar the cost of living, I could genuinely live there. It's so unique.

[Eibhlin]

That's so awesome, I am really glad you had a good time! I have wanted to go there for a long time, and I'm glad people are nice there, I have always heard they were kinda mean to tourists. Too bad it was expensive! It's good to have you back though!!

[last_dance_rodeo]

I'm so glad you had a good time kiera. It sounds like a very romantic place and also very beautiful.

[Little Bird]

One thing I didn't mention which was a tragic side to Venice, was the number of physically handicapped and mentally ill people begging on the streets. There weren't too many but almost all of the people we saw looked to be be physically or mentally ill. It was heartbreaking really. It made me wonder if there are any facilities for those people available. Clearly there is a problem with the system if they aren't being cared for and end up on the streets.

[007]

Yes, I missed you terribly! And I beckon some photos of the trip, please. I'd love to see more of Venice that I couldn't see because of my short visit.

Well, aside from how thin your wallet is, I'm rather glad you had a wonderful trip. I never got to see much of Venice, because I, let's just say I got caught in a jam. Yep, everything in port towns like Venice is expensive. Especially when the Navy comes in, then they tarrif anything they imported and reraise the prices on everything domestic, so we get screwed either way, what little time I was in the Navy, that is.

I remember eating at a small cafe in the Dutch side of St. Maarten, and one Coca-Cola came out to a whopping $5.

I don't know about you, but five bucks for a can of Coke was a rip! I only had one at that price.

I remeember also taking a water taxi in St. Maarten, too. Thhey wanted around $15 dollars a person to travel a thousand yards! A thousand yards of water, I could see the other side of the Phillipsburg Canal from there! It was ridiculous! I actually refused to pay such a high rate, and got off the boat!

How did I get across the river, well, I took out my wallet and keys, and money clip. I got a plastic bag from a local store nearby the water taxi stand, and I put all of my important stuff inside the bag, and took off my Hawaiian shirt and wrapped the stuff insdie it, and then put that inside the bag, tied it tight, double bagged it, and swam the distance.

I'm not lying, either. I reallly swam the thohusand feet, come on, if there's on e person on this forum who has the aquatic skills, it would be me. I came up from the beach just beside the docks in my wet pants and soaked boots. I actually felt a little ridiculous doing it, but I knew that I'd take it back on theh way back because I went thhere shopping. I knew I'd have bags in my hands.

Boy, was that different. I just swam across the water with no problem and walked up the beach to theh dock and waved at the water taxi as it pulled in minutes later.

When I got back to the dock after buying afew goods (colognes and such, some cigarettes, et cetera) they gave me the hardest time about it. Worst five minute ride of my life.

But I saved fifteen bucks and got over quicker than they could. Special thanks to the Navy and high school swim team, right!

I guess the point is, no matter where in the world you go, Kiera, and to all (I've been all over), your wallet will get scalped, unless you have some connection over there. Clearly I didn't in St. Maarten, and I think you didn't in Venice.

I got scalped all over the world, but the worst was probably St. Maarten! Although, I can remember a few places where I lived like a king for fifteen or twenty bucks!

Jonesy

[Veilingmeat]

Ay :wink: glad you had a wonderful time Kiera, sounds as if it did hurt thee ol wallet just a tad! I can understand that in such places in Italy of such great fame and fortune will always be costly, but its sooooo worth it. I'v also been to the great Venezia...but i was only 7yo hehe, so I'v bugger all memory of it :tongue:
aaanyway...pictures Kiera pictures....i can never get enough of Italy! love it to bits!

[Little Bird]

I've been putting some photos together today. It seems there's none of me on there. LOL. Peter has all the ones with us in them on his camera. Once I get those, i'll add them to the album and post a link. Right now, it's 2:19am and I've spent the entire day online catching up.

I'm shattered. See you all tomorrow.

[DreamsLast]

One of my lifelong dreams has been to ride in a gondola in Venice.........and ONE DAY I'll do just that. Until then I can re-live the Venice experience through Kiera's recent trip..........Glad you enjoyed it so much! :-)

[Little Bird]

The gondola trips are great. The have arms of steal with the amount of rowing they do and even some of them do sing (though some really shouldn't - LOL). Their gondolas cost anywhere from €20,000 upwards and are incredibly comfortable and beautifully ornate. I'm sure you'll love it.

[007]

OH, at first I thought a gondola was the air cable cars used all over the world. SHows my smarts, right?

[Eibhlin]

actually I think the term gondola may be used for both...
but I'm not 100% sure there

[Little Bird]

Yep, it's also a cable car

[007]

I'm scared to death of those things (the air cars), just wanted to clarify.

[Little Bird]

Ok, Here's some photos.

San Marco Square
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w137/jewelkilcherforum/venice07/Venice_waterbus_sanmarco.jpg

Same but a little later when it got misty
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w137/jewelkilcherforum/venice07/venice_sanmarcomist.jpg

Ponte Di Rialto - The famous Venetian bridge
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w137/jewelkilcherforum/venice07/venice_rialtobridge.jpg

The Happy Couple!
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w137/jewelkilcherforum/venice07/venice_cheese.jpg

Venice is still technically sinking and through techtonic movement the buildings are still moving. This is one of the buildings where the subsidence is very visible
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w137/jewelkilcherforum/venice07/venice_subsidence.jpg

Here is one of the gondolas
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w137/jewelkilcherforum/venice07/venice_gondola.jpg

Venice is also famous for the Masquerade. Here is a photo of one of the shops that are all over Venice
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w137/jewelkilcherforum/venice07/venice_mascarageshop.jpg

The canal at night
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w137/jewelkilcherforum/venice07/venice_grandcanalnight.jpg

Here are more photos (http://s175.photobucket.com/albums/w137/jewelkilcherforum/venice07/?start=0)

[kjm030584]

wow.... 0.o those are beautiful. I bet you had a great time. Do they have taxi boats?

[Eibhlin]

now that is awesome, and I am jealous

[last_dance_rodeo]

Wow those photos are beautiful. So is that woman in that one pic. Hehehe

[awiste]

Simply beautiful! Thank you for sharing your photos!

[007]

I love the one with the Canal at night, and theh misty photograph of the Square di San Marco. Really touching images, beautiful stuff. Thanks for that.

Jonesy

[Little Bird]

wow.... 0.o those are beautiful. I bet you had a great time. Do they have taxi boats?

Yes they have water taxi's but they're very expensive. The cheapest form of transport were your own feet and you could get everywhere that way but the second cheapest was the water bus. This was €6 and may not seem all the much but a return trip for the 2 of us was €24. Realising you could get everywhere by foot and got to see a lot more, we only did that once but I do recommend if you ever do go there, to take the waterbus at least once!

Chris, You should see some of the ones I didn't include. Peter has a habit of taking sneaky pictures of me when I'm just walking around or making funny faces. Some of them are just awful. LOL

Jones, the one in San Marco with the mist was a chance shot. It was a perfectly clear day the whole time we were there with the exception of about 50 minutes when some mist came in from the sea. We were nowhere near San Marco when the mist first hit but by the time we got there and I took that photo, the mist was gone mere moments later.

[007]

Hey, candid photos are the one's you'll always remember, becausewhen you dig through your photo albums, you'll always rmeember to turn that page briskly and pretned it was nothing, been there, done that!

[Veilingmeat]

Absolutly amazing yet beautiful pictures Kiera...thanks for sharing! :wink:
Adore the 'canal at night' as is the 'Basilica San Marco' wonderful looking building a true tribute to architecture, hell there all good...
Its kind of sad to hear and even see the destruction or should i say small signs of the City slowly falling into the ground, and again, should i say 'water'. I think if they can send a man too the moon, then they can save a city with such beauty & such a vibrant history such as that, from falling into the drink. Well things work in mysterious ways eh! BUT.....amidst the Italian splendor and Ice Cream :tongue: i'm glad you enjoyed in joyess masquerade!

[007]

Did someone mention ice cream????

I haven't had ice cream in years. Oh man, I wish I could but if I did, my abs would melt that next morning, so I'll just stick to tuna. But ice cream! I have dreams about it, OHHHHH MY GODDDDD!